Electric motor actuators for robotic and automation systems often require a transmission (speed reducer) in order to operate within the speed-torque requirements of the application and of the motor. Commonly used solutions include multi-stage gearboxes, timing belts, cables with capstans, Harmonic Drives, and cycloid gearboxes. These solutions are often too inefficient, susceptible to overload damage, heavy, and require expensive precision manufacturing. They are also often too expensive for consumer products when high performance is required. Harmonic Drive is most commonly used in high performance applications where low backlash and gear-ratios greater than 50:1 are required. The Harmonic Drive is proprietary, heavy, inefficiency, and too expensive for consumer application. Cable drive systems can be lightweight and efficient. However, non-trivial transmission ratios lead to complex multi-stage designs that require high preload forces and challenging cable management. Often it is desired to integrate a torque sensor such as a strain gauge loadcell into the transmission in order to achieve closed loop torque control. Practically, integration of this sensor can prove challenging as the sensor wires typically rotate with the transmission output and therefore require cable management.